Shiny Cooking

Oh gods. Rotting bananas on the counter again.

I don’t want banana bread. I’ll just put half of it in the freezer and forget it’s there.

Oh! A recipe for banana-chocolate chip muffins. I like chocolate chips, yes I do.

And about 45 minutes later these babies came out of the oven, all gently crisped tops and warm, moist, finely-textured insides. Crap. That sounds really dirty.

Don’t act so smug. I know I’m not the only one who went there.

those moist, finely-textured insides have chocolate chips!

Sis said these muffins were like a spice cake with banana flavor. The brother-in-law only got a bite and wanted more, pestering Sis until she made her own (not this recipe, oddly) the next day. She used mini chips and liked that even better.

Personally, I like the extra depth the cinnamon and nutmeg lend to the hearty whole wheat, rottingly sweet bananas, and chocolate. But if for some wacky, crazy, insane reason you don’t, just omit them from the recipe.

What do you like to do with overripe bananas, anyway?

whole wheat banana chocolate chip muffins

This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking, aka My Favorite Baking Cookbook Ever. Reprinted with permission.

prep: 10 minutes
bake: 23-28 minutes
to table: 45 minutes
servings: 18
oven: 350 degrees

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups (12 ounces) mashed ripe banana (about 3 large bananas)
1/4 cup (3 ounces) honey
2 large eggs
2 cups (8 ounces) whole wheat flour, traditional or white whole wheat
2/3 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line muffin tin(s) with papers, and grease the cups with a nonstick vegetable oil spray, if desired. I didn’t spray them and they came apart from the papers without a problem.

Beat together butter, sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth. Add banana, honey, and eggs, beating until smooth. Add flour and chocolate chips, and mix well.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups. The cups will be nearly full — they don’t rise much. The original recipe supposedly makes 12, but I got 18 out of it. Bake until a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, 23 to 28 minutes. Remove from the oven, and after a few minutes transfer the muffins to a rack to cool.

You may eat one while they are still hot if you can’t resist.

tags: banana, chocolate, whole wheat flour

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